The University of Bristol School for Policy Studies’ Children and Families Research Centre (CFRC) and the Brigstow Institute welcome University of Queensland early childhood researchers, Emma Cooke and Bonnie Searle, who will be sharing their work on interactions between children and educators in mealtime environments in disadvantaged neighbourhoods in Queensland, Australia.
Observations were carried out in Early Childhood Education (ECEs) in very disadvantaged areas of Queensland, Australia, exploring mealtime environment and interactions between children and educators. Research shows that mealtime educator-child interactions in ECE are low in quality and tend to reduce child agency, in order to control the amount and type of food eaten. We draw upon Paulo Freire’s Banking method concept and neoliberal discourses of health to critically analyse notions of child agency and food scarcity in ECE meals. We use a crystallisation framework that combines a DRAW (Departing Radically in Academic Writing) methodology with standardised observations. Parent surveys, mealtime observations, educator interviews and InCLASS measures were conducted across 12 mealtimes. The findings demonstrate that in very disadvantaged ECEs children experience low quality educator-child interactions and low agency during mealtimes, conflict increasing across the day, which we posit may be linked to child hunger. Educators sought to control the order of food eaten and ration children’s home packed meals to last across the ECE day. The ideal ECE meal combines enough food with child agency: systemic policy action is needed to achieve this in disadvantaged ECEs.